


Underneath It All

by veriante



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, Identity Porn, M/M, Masks, Masquerade Ball, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-24 18:34:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21342805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veriante/pseuds/veriante
Summary: Tony has an obss- Fixation and with it, comes an itch that needs to be scratched.What better way to to do that than in an anonymous party with strict rules for masks and a convenient janitor's closet?Too bad that it's never that simple with him.~~~A prompt fic with the prompt from Mystical_Magician involving Identity Porn and a Masquerade.As always because I can't write anything short or without the Explicit tag, it is a two-parter with very explicit sexual content.Beta Read and edited by the Goddess that is Missaness.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 26
Kudos: 163





	1. Behind the Mask

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mystical_Magician](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystical_Magician/gifts).

> Hello!  
Your 'can't write anything without smut' and 'have lost the dictionary somewhere around the word 'brief'' author, Kira here! 
> 
> So. 
> 
> In the interest of keeping my skin intact from the angry pitchforks sure to be coming my way from all of the angst and cliffhangers in Amor Vincit Omnia, I am... throwing this out as a bribe. *cough* 
> 
> Thank you Mystical_Magician for the prompt in our wonderful discord server and I hope this turned out somewhat the way that you wanted. 
> 
> Also, thank you to Missaness as always for her wonderful and quick editing. Considering I can't write anything short, none of my work could even get the hand that it needs without her support. 
> 
> So Missa and Mystical... <3 you two! AND all of the wonderful people on Fictional Wonders Discord Server and anyone else that might take the time to read and to comment on this little fic. 
> 
> <3  
Kira Tsukimoto

The bed is large and comfortable. 

The sheets are soft under his bare body and despite the heat and the sweat that has been soaked into them, he is reluctant to leave it. 

There is cum pooling on his stomach and a lazy  hand that is trailing their fingers through it. His spent cock twitches, trying to see if it can get itself interested again. 

"Haven't had enough?" Tony asks, his voice amused and filled with that affection and fondness he can't keep out of his voice anymore. 

Not when it comes to the owner of the fingers as they pull away the fingers and makes a show of licking Tony's cum off of them. 

"Never." The man replies. 

Tony can't help but smile as he leans over and kisses those lips. Lips that taste of his cum. Lips that he'd tasted over and over again for the past hour or so and well, the past year, if he is being exact. 

"Happy anniversary baby." Tony says when they do pull away from the slow dirty kiss. There is a fond smile playing on the man's lips as he whispers those words back. 

Had they had the time, Tony would have been tempted to push the man back onto the sheets, climbed on top of him and maybe taken the man deep inside of himself and ridden him nice and slow for the remainder of the night. 

But that isn't what's on the books tonight. 

No. What they have planned is a far more... of an interesting night. 

"Are you sure you're gonna be able to find me?" Tony can't help but ask. There is always that bit of insecurity inside of him as he asks the question. 

The man raises an eyebrow, a quirked eyebrow, perfectly manicured as always and sharp and gorgeous as always. 

"I can  find you anywhere. At any time. There will be nothing in the world that could stop me from finding you." The man says, his voice velvety soft and delicious and perfect as always. 

"But what if you find someone hotter and younger instead? What if-" Oh, Tony is being facetious. He knows that his lover could find him. That there is no doubts about it and that when they do find each other, it is going to be a deliciously hot night. 

Instead of an answer, Tony gets his lips thoroughly plundered as the man all but climbs over his body, straddling him and kissing him and touching him so thoroughly that all and any of those little insecurities get settled quickly and thoroughly. 

"I could never. But there is something you can do to make certain of that." His lover says with a purring tone that is always suggestive and always so fucking arousing that Tony's cock really, really tries, the poor thing, but he is a man in his late forties and there is a limit to his libido. 

"Oh? And what would that be?" Tony asks even though he already knows the answer by the way that the bottle of lube  is being pushed into his hands. 

"Get me wet and loose for you." The dirty words are whispered directly against his lips as his lover pulls his hands down to his hole. There is no hesitation. There never is. 

It doesn't matter what it is that he might be up to. It doesn't matter how interesting the work is or hell, the world could be ending, there is no moment in the world that won't get him interested and aroused and ready for a moment to have his way with this gorgeous man in his bed. 

"It would be my pleasure." Tony utters as the man begins to kiss his way down Tony's neck even as he spreads his legs wide and straddles Tony's hips properly. 

It gives Tony all the access that he needs to reach around to the firm buttocks that feel delicious and hot and perfect even after a year of fucking it and being fucked by it and probably always will. 

As he brushes against the tight rim, his lover lets out a delicious moan. As Tony's finger works  its way past it, lubricating and stretching as he goes, his lover's head is lowered onto the crook of Tony's neck and buried there as the moans and pants fall from those gorgeous lips. 

Tony is thorough. He always is. If there's one thing he's learnt about sex over the years, it is that preparation is good and there is no such thing as too much lube. Especially when you are planning on some rather quick and dirty fucking later and especially if you happen to care about the comforts of a lover. 

Which Tony does. 

A lot. 

As he works his fingers in and out of his lover's tight, hot channel, their breathing becomes rougher and rougher and Tony starts to feel his hard on against his stomach. 

Well. That's one thing about having a man younger than himself as a lover, Tony thinks a little ruefully. But that isn't the only thing. Every man has their own libido and their own recovery periods. His lover's recovery period happened to be a bit shorter than usual. 

Which was fine. 

It meant there were days when Tony could fuck him and have him come twice during one session on his cock. It helps that Tony doesn't mind having sex whilst he's not completely aroused. It also helps that their stamina at the very least matched. 

Yes, they were different and they had some odd preferences at times, but their sex life was both fulfilling and amazing and most of all, there was enough love and affection between them that the sex, for the first time in Tony's life, was secondary to all of that. 

"Come on baby, on your back." Tony instructs as he lifts his lover's head from his neck. When he does and Tony sees the hazy eyes filled with lust and need and desire, the flushed cheeks, the open and panting lips, oh by the gods, he wishes he could be hard enough to fuck him. 

Patience, he reminds himself as he pushes his lover back onto the bed, on his back and kiss his way down that perfect body he'd spent so many hours kissing and worshipping. 

He deserve every bit of the worship that Tony can  manage . 

He kisses and caresses his way down his lover's body until he reaches the beautiful cock that curls up into the taut stomach. It's hard and heavy and already leaking precum. Tony's mouth waters at the thought of it. 

He leans down and making sure that his lover was watching, smirks and swallows that hard cock down. 

Tony had always been good at sucking cock and he has always enjoyed sucking cock. With his oral fixation and loving having things in his mouth, whether it be coffee or food or lollies, it works out well for him. 

The salty taste of the cum may not be his favourite, but the fact that it is his lover's? It makes it a decadent experience in itself. That and the moan that is ripped from his lover's delicious lips. 

Tony does close his eyes at that point as he focuses on sucking that cock and drawing out those sounds, even as he encourages his lover to raise his knees so that he can continue the prep. 

Oh, they are going to be ridiculously late of course, but it doesn't matter. It's late for the sake of being late and they weren't going for the actual... party, so what did it matter? 

No. 

Besides, there is that low key excitement and arousal that sits in both of their stomachs as they even think about what they are going to be getting up to. The riskiness of it all. It's going to be a good night. 

And knowing that his lover is going to be lubed up and open and desperate for him is something that Tony is definitely going to get an extra kick out of. 

"O-Oh God! P-Please!" His lover's voice is husky and so, so very deliciously desperate as his hips start to try to buck, but being the considerate idiot that he is, he tries to restrain himself. Tony smiles around the cock in his mouth. 

It doesn't matter that they have been fucking each other constantly for almost a year now. Or the fact that Tony has reassured him over and over again that it was okay. 

The man was so careful with him despite their passionate couplings and there was so much consideration that all Tony can do is roll his eyes fondly as he swallows that cock all the way down. 

Deep throating a cock isn't the easiest of things to do, but it is a talent that Tony has cultivated over the years and he's quite proud of it. He hums softly around the cock even as his fingers find that spot inside of his lover that he  _ knows _ will make the man scream in pleasure. 

And he does. 

With a cry that sounds perfect and raw and delicious, the man comes deep inside of Tony's throat. He swallows it all. He swallows around the cock, milking it dry as he licks and cleans up the rest of it as he goes. 

Once he is done and he knows that the man is too sensitive, Tony lifts his head and removes his fingers and kisses the tender spot of skin next to the spent cock before resting his head on the toned thigh. 

"I love your mouth." The man slurs as fingers work their way into his hair. Tony chuckles as he licks his lips and rests his head for a moment. There is so much of that warmth and history between the two of them that makes these little moments where they are buzzed with the hormones and their mutual affection with each other, just... perfect. 

"I love your cock." Tony retorts back as he licks his lips and makes his way back up to his lover's lips and kisses them. 

It's a sloppy kiss but it feels as perfect as the first time they kissed. And all the other times. Tony smiles against the kiss and pulls away to look down at his lover with the arousal that he knows is starting to finally harden. 

"Do you want me to take care of you before you go?" His lover asks, his hand already caressing Tony's body but he shakes his head and slowly makes his way out of bed, though not before a final kiss. 

"See you later then, beautiful." His lover says as Tony leaves the bed. It will be the first time in a while that they make their way separately to a party, but it will be well worth it. 

"Not if I see you first." Tony turns and winks  at the fond exasperated roll of eyes as he walks into the bathroom. 

He knows that by the time that he has showered and leaves the bathroom, his lover will be gone. He will prepare and they will meet at the party, not aware of what they are wearing, not aware of just how much they might try to trick each other. 

But they will find each other. 

They always do. Just like the first time. 

~~~ 

"Can I interest you in a drink?" Tony turns to look at the woman addressing him. The feline mask is decadent, clearly expensive and made for her and her facial structure from the way that it sits perfectly over the top half of her face. 

Her dark red lips and that beautiful caramel skin tone, her alluring and pleasant voice and the shapely figure he can see from the tight black dress is enticing, but she's not what he's looking for. 

"Thank you but no." He declines politely and makes a show of looking away from her, clear sign of disinterest obvious through his body language. 

All of the body language throughout this particular party is exaggerated a little. 

The strict rules on the masks having to stay on their faces the entire night until the reveal at the end of the night is one of those reasons. It's a shindig that happens every Halloween and even though almost everyone here knows each other and just who is attending, there is that thin thrill of anonymity that they all enjoy. 

Being people in positions of power and influence, this was one of those parties that let you misbehave and be someone other than yourself for at least for the night, as long as you escaped before the night was over. 

It made it a perfect night to scratch the itch that had been building up inside of Tony Stark and had been for the past year. 

It's- Tony has a thing. 

It's always been a thing that his brain had issues with, if he is going to be completely honest about it. 

When an idea, even if it's stupid, gets into his brain and it is interesting enough to get the juices flowing, it really, really flows. And when it does, that idea can settle deep into his mind, set up a home and stay the fuck there and never leave until it is resolved. 

Which is fine. 

Normally. Normally, it means that Tony gets to create some rather interesting tech and it means that he makes breakthroughs in both the tech field and the science field. Normally, it might mean that Tony gets to travel somewhere odd for the vacation or he finds himself ordering and eating foods he'd never eaten before. 

Normally. 

But there are times when that little thing that he has can turn into disasters. That usually involves people. It's not that Tony becomes obsessed or completely forgets himself and turns into a creep that stalks them or anything. It's just that once he gets that thing happening with a person, Tony can't get them out of his head until he works out that itch. 

Normally, that's- that's not a big problem. Usually, they are celebrities or other famous people or people that would be easy enough to fuck and to scratch that itch and leave behind, satisfied with the one night encounter. 

This time? 

Oh, this time he went and fucked it up didn't he? Well, his brain did at any rate. No, this time, his brain decided that it would be a fan-bloody-tastic idea to get that little thing going with someone he works with. Someone that he thinks of as a friend. Someone that he desperately want to  _ keep _ as a friend. 

Which is a problem. 

And it started small. It started with noticing little things about them. Inconsequential things that you just notice when you spend time with someone. Like what they like to eat, or drink or their little quirks like the way that they pronounce certain words etc. 

It's the little  things that make them  endearing and stirs that interest in Tony. The way that they hold their cup, the way that their eyes light up during their conversations, the way that they move, the way that they touch Tony here and there. 

It's- Okay, so if Tony is going to be completely honest with himself, he would admit that it had gone well and truly past the 'little thing' of his and has gone well and truly into the fixation and that infatuation stage. But Tony isn't honest with himself so it's fine. 

He's been handling it pretty well too, for which he does pat himself on the back because it's been almost six months? More, since that niggling  thought that had settled into his head and he'd been able to keep himself professional, his hands mostly to himself and had kept their interactions at that pleasant banter level only with a bit of flirting. 

Nothing more than that. Which is- considering his reputation as being a manchild incapable of keeping his grubby hands off of things that interest and intrigue him, he has done a bang up job on. Maybe he has matured a bit. Probably not. 

Which is exactly why he is at this party. Trying to find someone that is close enough to what he is looking for so that he can scratch that itch and maybe get the whole thing out of his system. 

Unfortunately, though it's been an hour since he'd arrived, he hasn't found the right target. Which is disappointing, but the atmosphere was nice and there was something to be said about people watching in a place like this that he can't help but enjoy. 

Well ,  that is, until he does spot someone that could very much tick every box. 

It's the way that they walk that draws his attention first. A confident, strong gait that is purposeful though it is aimless. It's the gait that is almost familiar, though not quite. 

The tall slender body that is well toned from what he can see from the well tailored, bespoke tuxedo wrapped around the man. He isn't a peacock, from what Tony can see. It's a plain black tux that is only remarkable from the fact that it is expensive and well tailored. 

Tony's eyes follow the man as he walks through the crowd, navigating through the throngs of people with eyes moving and looking through them as if cataloguing them as he goes. 

There is a plain black porcelain mask on his face that is as full faced as Tony's and above the mask, Tony can see well pomaded hair that is also familiar but not quite. 

Oh he will do nicely, Tony thinks. 

The man's eyes land on him and Tony feels rather than sees the appraisal from afar as he leans against the bar and gives the same look back. 

This is an old game. One that Tony is all too familiar with. Especially when it comes to picking up men. It's easier with women. It's more socially acceptable with women. 

With men, you have to be careful not to offend them. To make sure that they are interested and showing the same interest without making it too obvious. It's a fine line. But it's a dance that he's familiar with and from the way that the man seems to be measuring him up, it's something that he is familiar with as well. 

Good. 

The moment Tony has decided to come to this party, he'd been aroused and filled with need. The moment that he'd decided that tonight was the night that he was going to finally take that itch and scratch the fuck out of it so that he can finally breathe and try to let it go. 

Seeing the man, the way that he moves, the way that his gorgeous form is wrapped up in that luxurious tuxedo sends all the right signals to Tony's body and it sets flame to that low key arousal. 

Fantastic. 

The man comes to the bar and he doesn't even hesitate. He leans against the bar next to Tony and his intentions are obvious. The man doesn't extend a hand. He merely looks at Tony. 

When Tony turns to look, he sees eyes that are- No, he can't help but think. It can't be him. It isn't. Tony knows that. He won't be at a place like this. He had plans. Tony knows that. But he can't help but feel the lump in his throat and his breath is stolen for a moment as he looks into eyes that look too familiar. Almost too close to what he's looking for. 

"Should I put in a pretence of asking why you came to a party like this?" The man asks, his tone barely polite with the hard lust behind it.

The moment that Tony hears that voice, his hopes do sink. It's not the same. It's not the voice that he'd been after. But it's close enough. It's close enough to work but it is also unfamiliar enough that there is no mistaking what it is that he is about to do. 

"You could. I could also offer to buy you a drink." Tony says with a shrug of his shoulders as he puts down the drink he hasn't even touched on the bar and leans over the man, invading his personal space. 

"Or, you could follow me to the back and we can get what we both came here for." Tony suggests. And it is a suggestion. His voice drips with it. 

"After you." The man says. 

Tony blinks and smiles behind the mask as he nods and starts to move. He's glad that he'd at least thought to use the voice modulator and he's wearing the contact lenses to hide the only recognisable features about himself with the mask on. 

He wants complete and utter anonymity tonight. He doesn't want any headlines in the news tomorrow, even in the social sections that no one reads, about a man giving interviews about fucking Tony Stark in the dark closet of a charity masquerade ball. 

No. He can do without the headlines and so can Pepper. 

It's been rough on her since they'd broken up for the final time and Tony doesn't need to go digging into her scars when they were trying to rebuild their friendship. 

If it took his voice sounding alien to himself and the irritation of the almost black contact lenses then so be it. 

Tony doesn't turn around to check if the man is following. He doesn't need to. He can feel the heated glances behind him as he walks. 

This isn't the first time that Tony has been to this particular venue for a party. It also isn't the first time that Tony hasn't bothered to book a room when he'd planned to scratch an itch. 

He knows all too well that there is a lovely, dark corridor at the back of the ballroom. he knows all too well that there is a janitor's closet with a lock that is left open. He knows even better that they will be far enough away from the party and the servers now that the food services were over, that they won't be disturbed. 

No one gives them a second glance as they walk through. There are vices on display everywhere at this party. People are kissing and touching each other. There are drugs and alcohol galore. This is a party New York's richest and finest come to in order to truly unwind and be themselves and be risque. 

All in the name of charity. 

It's a farce. But it works for what Tony needs right now. The stranger follows him and soon enough, the sound of their dress shoes are the only ones that echo in the hallways. 

Tony leads them confidently to the back of the hotel and the janitor's closet. The last time he'd used that had been several years ago and just like last time, it's open. 

Tony pulls the door open and bows and gestures to the man, who chuckles with a tone that is filled with more amusement than sensuality before he walks into the closet. Tony follows after him. 

He locks the door behind him and takes a deep breath. 

The closet doesn't smell unpleasant and between the cracks in the doors there is  _ just _ enough light to make out the silhouette of the man. Nothing more and nothing less. 

It's perfect. 

He is just the right height and he smells deliciously of musk and sandalwood of cologne. Not familiar, but that's fine. It's close enough. 

Tony leans against the closed door for a moment and lets what he is about to do sink in. 

"Take your mask off and put it on the shelf." Tony commands. He imagines what his object of infatuation would do. His perfect eyebrows would go up at Tony's audacity to issue such a command before bemused, he would do it, just to see whether or not Tony's eyes would light up with amusement. 

Tony can't see the man's expression. It's too dark for that. 

But he can hear the rustle of ribbons and the faint movement of the fabrics of the tux rubbing against each other and it's good enough. 

The soft clink of the porcelain mask landing on the wooden shelf gets Tony moving as well. And breathing easier. 

"Eager, aren't you?" The man says when Tony grabs for him as soon as his own mask had put on the shelf. 

"Let's just say I have an itch that needs scratching." Tony mutters as he pulls the man against himself and kisses him hard. Tony's spatial awareness comes in handy for moments like this. Even in the almost complete darkness, his lips don't miss the target. 

The feel of the man's moist lips against his, the way that they open up to invite him in, the feel of gloved hands wrapping around his own neck and cradling his head as he leans down to devour Tony's lips are just perfect. So is the feel of the facial hair against his own. 

This man is almost perfect. Not quite  _ him _ but goddamned close enough that it doesn't matter. Tony's imagination and the want and desire that has been building up inside of him can do  the rest of the work. 

The kiss is hot and heavy right off the bat. Good. The man crowds Tony hard against the locked door and the heavy oak door holds up to the weight well. 

With the firm hard surface behind him, the firm toned hard body pushing against him, it doesn't take much for Tony's arousal to spike through his system. 

A hard thigh is inserted between his legs just as he feels the stirrings of an erection against his own thigh. 

As they kiss and moan and rut against each other, the arousal only grows and grows until the tux pants feel too tight. 

The stranger isn't polite. His hands roam Tony's body and as the gloved hands do, Tony's own hands don't stay where they are either. They too roam, taking in the well toned muscles under them, the feel of the luxurious sink of the tux and the heat that the man emits. 

In the darkness, in the depth of his imagination, Tony is caught up in the need and lust that builds and builds until he is pushing the man back. 

"Let me fuck you."Tony doesn't mean to sound so desperate, but he is. The man doesn't laugh or chuckle. He pulls away from the kiss and moans when Tony pushes him against the shelf. 

"Please." The man's voice is husky and filled with just as much desperation and need as Tony's. 

There is a bit of a fumble to get both of them into position and for Tony to dig into his trouser pockets to get to the lube. But eventually, they get themselves sorted. 

This feels different to the other one night stands that Tony has had. This feels more desperate. Probably because the other party is just as needy and desperate as he feels. The closet feels almost too hot, but that in itself only adds to the atmosphere of need. 

The darkness, the sounds of the party in the distance, the fact that he is doing this with a stranger in a goddamned janitor's closet, all of it adds to his arousal and the eroticism of the encounter. The fact that his mind is filled with the thoughts of someone else makes it feel like a guilty pleasure being indulged. 

It doesn't matter. 

What matters is that there is a hard and heavy cock in his hand and his lubed up fingers are working their way into the stranger's tight heat. 

Even in this sort of situation, Tony is nothing if not thorough. 

He doesn't believe that sex under any circumstances should be painful. Uncomfortable at times? Definitely, ridiculous and funny? Duh. Rough, aggressive and passionate? Great. But painful? No. 

Tony works his fingers in and out of the man, scissoring him open and looking for that spot inside that almost always can make a partner moan and tighten around him. He finds it quickly and when he does, he is rewarded by the cock in his hand twitching and the man letting out a long drawn out moan that feels decadent. 

"I- Fuck me already." The man demands and Tony can't help it. He chuckles softly as he kisses the exposed firm buttocks as he lazily strokes the man's cock and fucks his fingers in and out of him. 

"Now who's the eager one?" Tony retorts because of course he does and he feels the man's annoyance in the way that he tries to turn. 

But with Tony's fingers inside of him and having found that spot, the man doesn't get the chance. 

"Trust me, Mr Eager, you want to be eager  _ and _ ready because this is going to be rough and hard." Tony tells him almost darkly. The man takes in a breath as if to protest or to retort back, but Tony rubs hard at that spot again and whatever he was going to say is cut off by a strangled cry that leaves him instead. 

In the darkness of the closet, the man's moans and pants and even Tony's own heated breathes feel all the more intimate and erotic. This is all exactly what Tony has needed. 

Once his three fingers can easily move in and out of the man, Tony lets go of the man's cock and digs into his pockets. He is going to have to send the tux off to the dry cleaners as soon as he gets home, he reminds himself. 

He gets the handkerchief and the condom out. He cleans his fingers with the handkerchief with a reminder to himself to properly wash his hands once this is done and shoves the handkerchief back into his all too tight pockets before he rips the condom open and fumbles with his hands with the other hand. 

Tony really is an old hand at all of this and it doesn't take long for him to have the condom covering his hard cock and before he is crowding into the other man and gripping the slim hips in his hands. 

"Do hold onto something." Tony warns the man before he enters him. The man's hips are just at the right angle and the closet is just big enough that Tony has the room and the leverage he needs to make it a smooth thrust all the way in. 

The cry that the man let's out makes Tony smirk even as he moans at his own pleasure. God. The man feels tight and hot around him and it's perfect. It is everything that he had been thinking about, dreaming about and jerking himself off to for the last six months. 

No. If he was being honest, that wasn't it. If it had been in accordance with his fantasies, his object of infatuation would have been laid out onto the bed on the thousand thread count sheets and Tony would have worshipped every inch of that body. 

But he doesn't get to have that luxury. This is a close, but not quite perfect simulation of at least the heat and the physique of the one that he well and truly wanted. 

Tony shoves those thoughts out of his head and focuses on the sensations. Once he is fully sheathed, he stops and gives them both a moment to recover. He leans over and he pulls the man's chest back, making him arch so that he can kiss those lips and taste that want directly from his lips. 

"Fuck! Y-You're b- g-Give me a sec." Tony smirks against those lips as the man trembles in his arms. Tony runs a hand down the man's back and strokes his cock a few times to give him that pleasure to hold onto as he struggles to adjust. 

He is well prepared enough that Tony knows that he isn't hurt, but the stretch might have felt like a bit much. Tony knows that sensation well enough. Besides, Tony needs the time too to get himself to adjust to the tight heat. 

Once the man's breathing eases somewhat, Tony starts to move. He starts slowly enough to make sure that his partner for the night is feeling the pleasure that he wants to give and not pain. 

But when the man starts to moan and to move his hips back to meet him, Tony doesn't hesitate. There is no thinking. Not anymore. 

All there is, in this dark  claustrophobic  closet is the heat between them, the pleasure building between them and in their bodies and the desperate need to get more and more of it. 

Tony fucks into the man hard and rough as he had warned him. The man takes it all in strides. he moans and he fucks himself back onto Tony's cock and it feels perfect. 

It was never going to be a drawn out affair and it isn't, but it is exactly what they both needed. Tony doesn't even need to touch the man before he comes with a strangled cry and when he tightens hard around Tony, he falls over the cliff too. 

Their rough breathing fills the air between them and the closet. Their hearts beat rapidly as they try to get themselves to calm down and Tony runs gentle hands down the man's back to help him in the process. 

He can't help it. This man reminds him of the person he'd been fantasising about for six months. A person that he truly cares for and perhaps even loves. So it's- It feels all too natural to be kind. To be considerate. 

As he runs those calming caresses down the man's body, he also leans over and kisses the long neck that is exposed by the way that the man hangs his head. It takes some doing, but Tony manages to get his lips onto the skin right above the shirt collar. 

And he can't help it. He can't stop himself. 

He marks that spot, even though he never marks his one night stands. It's- the man moans softly as Tony does and he can't help but smile against the mark as he slowly pulls back and out of the man gently and slowly. 

With practised motions, Tony ties off the condom and with the handkerchief, cleans up both the man and himself and the condom before he puts it all into his pocket. Definitely going to need dry cleaning, he reminds himself. 

"That- That was just what I needed. Thank you." The man says, surprising Tony as he rights his clothes. 

"Same." Tony says and he will admit, he is surprised when the man turns around, without even fixing his pants or the state of his clothes and reaches for Tony. 

The kiss that the man gives him tastes of sweat and it is more lingering and affectionate than what Tony was prepared for, but he gives into it. 

It hits him then that maybe he hadn't been the only one looking at someone else and thinking of someone else during the encounter. Well, it's only fair isn't it? Tony thinks as he smiles against the kiss. 

Once they part, there is a bit of awkwardness. 

There always is after encounters like this. But the man cuts through it just like he had cut through the preamble. 

"I'll keep my back turned if you wish to leave. I- I will need a moment." The man's voice sounds oddly vulnerable. Tony nods and he wants to ask if he is okay, but it seems- It seems like he would be intruding. 

"Of course." Tony mutters as he slowly puts the mask back onto his face, straightens his tux just enough. He unlocks the door and leaves. 

It's only when he's home and he gets a message asking for the meeting he's supposed to have in the morning to be delayed by a couple of hours does he realise that the itch hadn't been scratched. 

No. The encounter? It was perfect, but all it's done really, is make that want  and need all the more real inside of him. 

Well. Fuck. 

~~~ 


	2. No More Masks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scratching the 'itch' hasn't worked out. 
> 
> Instead, all that has been left behind are memories to link to the fantasies that had burned through his mind and now burns through his body. 
> 
> Well shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I might have been more tired and messed up than I thought. I slept for 20+ hours straight from a 'nap' and woke up and it was the next morning. 
> 
> And now I'm still tired because I probably overslept and grumpy because I wasted so much time but hell... where's the damned Time Stone when I need it? 
> 
> Oh well, whilst I slept, Missaness worked so she edited this one shot for us... at least one of us was working? >__< 
> 
> Thank you Missa and thank you guys for your kind comments. I hope you will enjoy this! 
> 
> <3 <3 <3

Tony is late. 

He'd been busy. With work. It happens. It's just- nope. No. He was late because he felt guilty. Yep. Tony fucking Stark felt fucking guilty. 

Because he'd spent the goddamn night fucking a stranger whilst imagining someone else and it took some time for him to deal with the fact that he was supposed to look his object of infatuation in the eye and pretend that he didn't do that. 

That he didn't spend the night imagining their eyes, their hands, their body under his as he fucked the stranger hard and fast. 

Also, what he'd hoped would be a quick fuck to get the thoughts of his obss-infatuation out of his head has backfired. Horribly. 

Now, instead of the vague imaginations and thoughts, he had strong memories of physical sensations tied to the fantasy and that was just- well... fuck. It was all fucked up and he can't. He just couldn't. 

Yeah. 

So Tony was late. 

God he's so fucking screwed. 

So yeah. Fuck it. Tony is only human and it's a very human thing to avoid having to deal with the consequences of his actions. So, Tony kept putting off leaving the house. 

He had spent time that hadn't been completely necessary working on something that he hadn't needed to work on because he'd- Tony is really far, far too good at procrastination. 

Still.

He does make it to the meeting just in time to be politely late. Feasibly late. 

As he walks up the familiar stairs to the building that he is all too familiar with, it takes him a moment or two to actually square himself away. He can do this. He has been doing this for months and he can just- Tony takes a deep breath to calm himself enough to knock on the door. 

When  he  does, the door opens by itself. 

It always does and like always, as soon as he steps into the building, Tony feels that sense of calm wash over him and it feels- It feels good. 

He'd hated it at first. It felt like a manipulation and with his brushes with magic not having been on the uh... positive side, he'd hated the fact that this stupid building could force calm upon him and he used to fight it tooth and nail. 

Until he  learned  that not everyone felt calm when they were in the Sanctum. Some people felt nothing. Others felt afraid and some thought it was foreboding. 

The Sanctum only welcomed those that Stephen Strange, the Master of the Sanctum welcomed. 

It was Stephen Strange and his welcome of Tony into the Sanctum that made it feel like a calm, warm and safe place for him. Once he knew that, he couldn't help but enjoy the calm that the Sanctum provided him. That Stephen provided him. 

"You're late." Stephen says curtly as Tony walks in. Tony's eyes zero in on him immediately and the guilt and the longing spikes through his body. Tony manages a shrug and goes through with the excuse he'd always used. 

"I was busy. Stark Industries stuff. So, what's got you in a bad mood?" Tony asks. He can't help but notice the dark bags under the doctor's eyes and the way that the familiar grey blue eyes seem to be more grey than blue today. 

"Nothing. I've just been up late. That's all." It's a lie. Tony can read Stephen well enough now to see it. But he doesn't push and he doesn't question because they aren't close enough for that. God he wishes they were, but they aren't. 

As always, just being in the man's presence, hearing his voice, seeing his grey blue eyes sends that longing and desire and want deep into his stomach and Tony is luckily, prepared for that. It has been six months of this after all. 

"Alright then, so what's happening in the mystical neck of the woods?" Tony asks with a tone that he hopes is light as he adjusts the sunglasses on his face. 

The tint has adjusted enough that it doesn't seem douchey for him to be wearing it indoors and more importantly, they mask some of the bags under his eyes. 

"The usual. I was hoping you could help me track an Artefact." Stephen says with a shrug as he points to the stairs. Tony nods easily enough. It's not the first time and it won't be the last time that the doctor asks for help. 

Despite the length of their acquaintance, there is a lot about the Mystic Order and the whole sorcerer thing that Tony doesn't know a lot about. Not that he minds. Everyone has secrets after all and the doctor is forthright with the information when they need it. 

Stephen moves up the stairs first and Tony waits for him to do so because he can't help but admire the man's backside as he makes his way up. 

Except something is different about the doctor's gait today. He doesn't walk with the graceful elegance that he usually does. There is no little sway in his hips. There is a stiffness about him that brings a frown to Tony's face.

"You alright doc?" Tony can't stop his mouth from asking the question. He's never been that successful at fighting against curiosity after all. 

Stephen pauses on the stairs for just a moment before he nods stiffly. 

"Fine. Just- Just a bit of a mishap." Another lie. Stephen doesn't turn around to look at him as he does. He just continues to climb the stairs in that stilted odd way and Tony's frown deepens. 

Stephen doesn't lie to him all that often. 

Worry and concern courses through him. Had Stephen been involved in a battle? Was he hurt and was trying to hide it? Tony's mind whirls with the possibilities but Tony keeps his thoughts to himself as he continues to follow until they reach the library that Tony is all too familiar with. 

This is the equivalent of Tony's lab for Stephen. This is where he meditates, works on his spells and plans his own missions, just like Tony does in his lab. Being invited in here, Tony knows, is a sign of trust. One that he has returned by inviting him into the lab. 

"Make yourself comfortable." Stephen mumbles before going to the large desk at the centre of the library between all the bookshelves lining the walls. 

The library is bigger than it should be, given the size of the Sanctum. But, given that the whole damned building is a magical thing, Tony isn't surprised. Though he had been before he'd heard the explanation. 

Stephen stands stiffly at the desk and for a moment, Tony is mesmerised by the way that the light from the large windows hit the doctor and illuminate him. 

Stephen Strange is beautiful. 

Just seeing him is enough to take Tony's breath away. God, he needs to stop, Tony thinks desperately to himself. He really, really needs to stop all this nonsense before- 

All of Tony's thoughts come to a complete stand still. 

As Stephen bends his neck, and the base of his neck is exposed from the collar of the thick dark blue robes he usually wears, Tony sees it. 

A kiss mark. 

Had he seen that mark on Stephen's neck at any other time or any other location, he would have felt bitter disappointment. He might have felt his heart drop and it might have hurt. But right now? It doesn't. 

Because he knows that mark. Even if he hadn't seen it, he remembers the sensation of placing it. Tony's heart drops for another reason altogether. 

It can't be. Right? There is no way that- No. 

"Anthony?" Stephen's voice is concerned and so are his pale blue grey eyes as they look at him and Tony blinks. Shit. 

It's only then  that  he realises that he had been standing there, staring at the doctor for far, far too fucking long to be polite and more importantly, he'd been missing out on whatever Stephen had been saying. 

"Oh, I'm- Sorry. Just thinking about something." Tony says somewhat lamely as he tears his eyes away from Stephen and makes his way to the table. 

His head swims with the images and memories from the night before. 

He remembers the blue grey eyes on the man's face. But his voice had been different. His hands- well they'd been covered in gloves, but they hadn't been shaking like Stephen's does now. The stranger's hair hadn't had the beautiful silver streaks through it. 

The man's physique had been right on the money as Stephen's but he hadn't smelled of tea and old books and wood like Stephen normally does. 

It couldn't- Tony takes a deep breath. As he does, he swears that he can smell a hint of sandalwood if not the musk of the cologne the man had been wearing. 

No. Tony is imagining things. He is just- Stephen might have a lover that Tony doesn't know anything about. Stephen had said that he was going to be at the Kamar-Taj working last night. Not in New York and unavailable for any Avenger work unless it was truly an emergency. 

Besides all of that, Stephen isn't- He isn't even interested in men, is he? And Stephen's not the type to engage in one night stands and- 

Tony's thoughts stumble over each other as they circle around itself over and over in his head until he feels like his head is about to explode. 

Stephen is talking. 

Tony pays just enough attention to hear what he is saying and process it, but  the  majority of his brain power is in deep panic as the need to know, the need to confirm begins to overwhelm him. 

"So basically, you just want me to see if any of my satellites can pick up the energy signatures?" Tony asks him after the explanation is over. Stephen nods curtly. 

Tony nods mostly to himself as he looks over the magical map that Stephen has laid out over the table. But he doesn't see the map. 

Not really. 

Instead of the map, instead of the information that he should be focusing on, Tony can't help but think about the night before. The heat, the hot sex, thew way that the man's head had been bowed as he had fucked into him, the way that he had moaned, the way that- 

He needs to know. 

Even if he has no idea what the fuck he would do, or what he would say if it turned out that he had fucked Stephen Strange last night instead of a stranger. He still- 

He needs to know. 

As he thinks that, Tony takes a deep breath and plans. He thinks of the questions to ask and he makes a deal with himself. If, if by some fucking miracle, it turned out that the stranger had been Strange- Ha! Then Tony will... He will come clean. He will- He will take the risk that he had been avoiding so far. 

But if it turned out that it really had been a stranger and that Stephen had been busy elsewhere, then... then Tony will forget it. He will make himself forget all about Stephen Strange and this infatuation, this fixation, this... obsession. 

But, if it was him, then- God. If it had been Stephen, it wouldn't have been like that, Tony would have been more careful. He would have been more considerate. He would have been more gentle. He wouldn't have fucked him in a fucking janitor's closet. 

The regret and the guilt builds inside of him and he just- 

He needs to know. 

"Not related to this, but I got a magic question for you doc." Tony asks, keeping his eyes firmly on the map and his head bowed down low enough that Stephen can't read his expression. 

Tony Stark may be good at wearing masks but he also knows that Stephen is good at seeing past them and now isn't the time to risk it. 

Dread and anxiety and fear mix and settle in his stomach. God. What if- Stop it, he reminds himself. Don't put the horse before the cart. Wait until you can be sure, he reminds himself. 

"Of course you do." Stephen's voice is amused and dry as he replies. Tony can't fight the smile that comes to his lips from hearing that tone. 

"Well, I'm only human, contrary to popular belief. So, is there like a way for someone to alter their voice through magic? Or change their appearance?" Tony asks and he draws his finger across the map, watching with fascination as the soft gold glow follows his finger as it moves.

Magic can be fucking awful but sometimes, it can be so fucking amazing, Tony thinks as he watches that glowing light. And Stephen's magic was almost always just amazing. Beautiful just like the man that wields- Oh god, Tony's got it bad. Real bad, Tony thinks as he waits for his reply. 

"I- yes. It is possible. Why do you ask?" Stephen asks and yeah well, it's his turn to hesitate isn't it? But he doesn't. Bluffing and lying is a skill he'd learnt very early in his life after all. 

"No reason. Just curious. And whilst I'm at it, I got one more for you doc, though this is a little more personal." Tony asks him and as he does, he does look up at Stephen. 

It's just a flash. 

An incredibly quick flash that he might not have even caught if he hadn't spent the past six months watching Stephen Strange like a hawk. But he does see it and once he has, he can't help but notice it, read it and understand it. 

It adds to the thoughts circling inside of his head. Stephen simply nods, though there is a bit of a guard up. There always is when Tony asks him personal questions. 

"Your hands. Is there a way to make them steady? For you to go back to doing what you used to do?" Tony asks and by the gods he hopes his tone is as casual as he had planned it to be. He's not sure if he managed it from the way that Stephen's eyes narrow. 

"That isn't any of your business." Stephen's tone is almost harsh as he curls his hands into fists for just a second. The flash of pain is obvious as they cramp and tremble and shake. 

For a moment, Tony doesn't know what to say as Stephen bites his lips and looks down at his broken hands, pain obvious in his eyes as he does so. 

Tony's heart clenches and he wants to do something. He wants to go over to Stephen. Take those hands into his, massage them. Kiss them. Make them better. But he- He can't. He doesn't have the right to do that. Instead, all he can do is watch as Stephen deals with the pain that he has caused. 

See? That's what curiosity gets you, Tony thinks blithely to himself and he tries to come up with something to say, to apologise, but before he can, Stephen sighs heavily and does it first. 

"Apologies. That- That was unkind of me." Stephen says and Tony opens his lips to counter that and to make apologies of his own, but Stephen continues with a heavy sigh. 

"There are- There are certain forbidden magics that would allow me to continue to work as a surgeon. I could have the full function of my hands, but I will not be able to use magic. There are also more... temporary spells that could allow me to have the full use of my hands for a few hours." Stephen says and from the way that he says it, Tony gets the distinct feeling that there is a price to pay for it. 

That's one thing he's learnt over his time spent with Stephen Strange at least. Everything has a price. Tony would wager his Lambo that the reason why Stephen's hands were so shaky and the reason why he seemed to be in so much pain today was because he'd done exactly that the night before. 

"Why the questions Anthony? Is there some undercover mission you're considering?" Stephen asks with a tongue in cheek expression and tone that is strained. Tony shrugs his shoulders. He keeps his eyes firmly on the doctor as he speaks. 

"If I needed to, all I would do is wear some dark contact lenses and maybe use a voice modulator. Maybe pick up a nice tux and a Venetian mask." Tony's eyes pick up the subtle hints of surprise and that flash of guilt again. This time,  they’re  joined by suspicion and apprehension. 

"Don't tell me you're imagining yourself as James Bond, Anthony." Stephen tries for exasperated but that's not what comes out. What Tony hears is barely disguised panic and surprise. 

And with it, the thought solidify in his mind as does the realisation. 

"God, I wish. I don't think I could be suave enough. Bet you could though." Tony mutters as he moves. 

He walks around the table to the other side where Stephen is standing. As he does, he sees the doctor's shoulders tensing as he, visibly torn, tries to decide whether to look at Tony or away from Tony. 

"Should I put on a pretence of asking?" Tony asks softly and he sees resignation fall on Stephen's face as the sorcerer closes his eyes. 

"I-" Stephen starts before he bites his lips. 

When he opens his eyes, they are filled with devastation and fear and resignation and everything clicks. 

Just clicks. 

The guilt that flashed in Stephen's eyes, the desperation from the night before. The vulnerability in his voice after the act. The message asking for the meeting to be delayed. 

All of it. 

It just clicks. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tony asks. He should be asking himself that question too of course, but for now, he's determined to hear Stephen's answer. 

Stephen's eyes are filled with so many emotions flickering past that Tony can't even read them all as the doctor looks away from Tony and down at his trembling hand resting on the table. Tony sees the shame most clearly as Stephen opens his lips. 

"How could I?" Stephen asks, his voice bitter and self deprecating. Tony hates it. He hates hearing that tone in Stephen's voice. 

"Well." Tony says as he breathes and he tries to gather the courage and he moves a step closer to Stephen. 

As he does, the doctor's body flinches for a moment, as if he is considering stepping back before the arrogance and that confidence and that stubbornness asserts itself back in Stephen and he raises his head to look at Tony almost defiantly. 

Good. 

That's what had always made Stephen alluring and impossible for Tony to ignore. Tony continues to move forward, keeping a hand on the table himself that he trails next to him as he walks along the length, one slow step after another until he is standing just a step away from Stephen. 

"I'm glad that we share that answer." Tony says and he takes in the surprised widening of Stephen's eyes as he takes the last step to close the gap completely between them and lets his hand rest over Stephen's. 

Later, if anyone asks, he would not be able to say who it is that reached out first. Or who kissed who first. But it doesn't matter. 

What matters is that they do reach out for each other and that they do kiss each other and that it is hot and heavy and desperate as it had been the night before. 

Later, they will actually talk about what had happened. They will admit that they had both gone to the party with the idea of scratching that itch. One that had been plaguing them for months. 

Later, they will both admit that they failed in that. They might even admit that it hadn't just been an itch. That there had been... more involved in all of it. 

But for the time being, they kiss. Magical maps and magical artefacts forgotten. 

~~~ 

Stephen's right. 

Of course he is, Tony thinks with fondness as he is pushed into the closet by a body crowding into him. 

The hands that cradle his neck this time trembles lightly, though they are gloved. The kiss is sure and certain and familiar but just as thrilling as the first one they'd ever shared. No, it's better. It tastes sweeter. It feels hotter. It feels better for knowing who those lips belong to. 

The heat in the closet is headier and hotter than that night. Their need is just as raw and desperate as it had been that night. But their lust and desire burns brighter and hotter. 

It really hadn't taken them all that much time. 

Tony had leaned against the bar just as he had done that night. He had waited, rebuffing interested parties. There was no contacts or voice modulator. Just Tony in a tuxedo with a Venetian Mask over his face.

He had leaned there, waiting and watching and honestly, he had recognised Stephen immediately. 

Despite the fact that he was wearing a mask that Tony had never seen before. Despite the fact that Stephen was wearing a tux cut differently to the way that it is usually. Despite the fact that the cheeky bastard had changed his eye colour and the way that he did his hair and even his hair colour. 

Tony had recognised him immediately. 

Just like his eyes had done from the first time they met and just as they had continued to do so for six months surreptitiously and then openly thereafter, they had fallen upon the sorcerer and immediately had recognised him. 

There had been no hesitation on the doctor's behalf either. Stephen had strode towards him, his gait sure and confident, his eyes hungry and lingering as they devoured Tony even as he had walked forward. 

Though his eyes were bright blue instead of the grey blue, there had been no doubt. 

Stephen had leaned over him and whispered the words that they had shared that night. His voice had been the same, unaltered and as they talked, delivering the lines that had led them to where they are now, the darker blue faded from Stephen's eyes until all that remained was the familiar grey blues. 

Tony had led them back to the janitor's closet again. Despite the heat burning in their veins and the desire coursing through their stomachs, they had slowly meandered their way to the back of the ballroom, letting the anticipation build. 

Tony had made the same bow, the same gesture, but Stephen hadn't laughed as he had done then. There had been too much heat between them for laughter. Instead, he had all but ripped Tony's mask off, dropped his own and had kissed him, hard and fast. 

It had been a dominating kiss. A kiss that took Tony's breath away and his control away. Which was fine. Tony was willing to give up all and every bit of his control to his lover.

The closet feels almost claustrophobic. It's too small and it's too hot and it is all so fucking perfect. 

Sweat runs down his back and his hands are  slick  with  it  as he holds Stephen as tightly as he can to himself and kisses him, trapped between Stephen and the hard wooden door behind him. 

They don't recreate everything from that night. 

There is no need to. Now, they have the benefit of knowing who it is that they are getting. They have no need to pretend. 

But they keep the light off. The door is still locked behind them. They are still in a hurry and it is only when they get home that they will make proper love and celebrate the relationship that has become the centre of their lives. 

And celebrate the fact that despite their idiocy, despite the fact that they had both been so cowardly that they hadn't been able to risk telling each other how and what they felt, that somehow, they managed to find each other. 

To fall in love with each other. 

But for the time being, they are needy, they are desperate and they are burning with  a lust that needs fulfilling. 

"God, I  love tasting you." Tony all but gasps as they break from the kiss. There is a hard thigh between his legs, just as there had been that night and he is already hard and pulsing against that leg. He ruts and as he does, Stephen moans, his own cock rutting against Tony's thigh. 

They can't keep their hands off each other and they can't even hope to keep their hips still as they rut against each other and moan into each other's lips as they kiss and try to hold back the cries that threatens to escape them. 

"Not as much as I do." Stephen mutters back. Stephen's eyes are almost glowing with light of their own. 

Tony can see the outline of them and it should be eerie, it should be terrifying, but it isn't. It is thrilling. By now, he has come to learn that such displays of magic is something that Stephen couldn't help. 

When he was heavily aroused and couldn't hold himself back, when he was on the verge of losing control, bit of his magic will start to bleed through that perfect control of his. 

Tony loves it. 

The magic is harmless and it's a sign of trust that Stephen even lets himself lose control like that when he is with Tony. The magic that flutters in and out between them feels warm and soft. It's- 

He kisses Stephen, a little softer this time before he turns his lover around. 

"Baby, I want to feel you." Tony says as he holds Stephen from behind and encourages him to brace himself onto the shelf in front of him. Stephen does even as he ruts back against Tony's hard cock. 

Tony bites his  lip  to hold back the moan. 

That night, they hadn't been this playful. They hadn't been so familiar. Tony hadn't known that he hadn't prepared Stephen as much as he should have. He hadn't realised that with the way that Stephen had been holding onto the shelf, he had managed to cause himself significant pain.

He hadn't realised that by the way that he had encouraged the doctor to arch his back, he'd made the lower back pain that Stephen often suffers from, worse. He hadn't known any of that. This time, he does. 

"I need to feel you." Tony tells him again as he crowds against Stephen, his voice a plea. Stephen understands him. He always does. Stephen doesn't even raise his head from where it is resting against his arms. He just waves a few fingers and that's all it takes. 

Their clothes disappear and just like that, Tony can feel Stephen. All of him as he leans his body against that smooth and hot skin and luxuriates on the feel of it. 

Tony kisses Stephen's back. He runs his hands up and down Stephen's sides and his body. He encourages Stephen to turn around so that they can kiss and touch and hold each other in a way that they never could have done that night. 

This is better. 

It might not be a faithful recreation of that night, but it  doesn't  need to be. This is better. This. Being this close to Stephen, feeling his heat and skin under his hands and his full body, knowing that there is a fucking  ballroom full of New York's elite just down the hall. 

It  feels  risque and dangerous and it only adds to the atmosphere and the mood. It's- It is absolutely perfect. 

"Are you still wet and loose for me?" Tony asks Stephen as the sorcerer turns around and leans his arms against the shelves. 

"God yes, but you should check." Stephen moans out as Tony's fingers move to check it for himself. The hole is loose, and he  is wet but not wet enough. 

"I should. I really should, shouldn't I?" Tony mutters mostly to himself and he cups Stephen's buttocks in both of his hands and he goes down onto his knees. 

He hopes that the floor is clean but if it isn't, then so be it. It won't be the dirtiest surface he's been on his knees on. Besides, the hastily stifled near shout that comes from Stephen's lips as Tony's tongue licks at the lubed up and loose rim is more than worth it. 

"Oh f-Fuck! T-Tony!" Stephen's cries are stifled, no doubt by his hands, but in the claustrophobic darkness of the closet, Tony can hear them well enough. He can hear every single sound that Stephen makes as Tony licks his way into his lover's hole. It doesn't matter that he tastes of lube and that it isn't the most pleasant of tastes. 

It wouldn't have mattered if it was motor oil, Tony would have enjoyed it anyway just by the way that Stephen's thighs tremble and the moans that he gives over and over again interjected only by the curse words that drop from Stephen's lips only when he is losing control. 

The faint sparks of magic that fills the closet is another sign and the lurid sounds of that Tony's tongue and lips make as he licks sucks and fingers Stephen is also obscene and perfect. 

"P-Please Tony. P-Please." Stephen all but begs and his voice is thick with need and lust and it is more than enough for Tony to smile as he strokes Stephen's thighs before rising smoothly. 

"Are you sure Mr Eager?" Tony asks with a low chuckle. His own voice is thick with that need and desire too. He strokes  himself almost leisurely and rubs the head of his cock over and over against Stephen's rim and every time he does, Stephen shudders and more magic  flutters  from his fingertips. 

The closet is lit pleasantly with the iridescent monarch butterflies that Tony has become incredibly fond of. This is Stephen on the verge of totally losing control. 

It doesn't happen often, but they are both emotional and overwrought with their desire for each other. Just that knowledge in itself makes Tony feel warm and fuzzy in a way that he would deny to his dying breath to anyone but Stephen. 

He runs a hand down Stephen's back and kisses the toned shoulder blade as he slowly enters his lover. The closet, lit with the butterflies and sparks of Stephen's magic feels intimate and perfect. 

Everything feels just like it had that night but better. 

Unlike that night when he'd just had  a sliver of light from the cracks of the door, Tony has the magic to see Stephen's pale body with. His lover's body almost glows with the magic and the rough and hard fuck that they'd been planning for isn't something Tony can go through with. 

Instead, he finds himself moving slowly to fill his lover and when he is fully seated, he can't help but reach for Stephen's lips. Stephen turns his neck so that they can and it's a soft tender kiss. 

They look into each other's eyes and Tony can see it. The emotions swimming inside of his lover as he smiles that soft trembling smile. 

It's a smile filled with that overwhelming love that fills Tony's heart. It's a smile that he remembers from the library the day after. It's the smile of wonder and amazement and bewilderment. 

It's a smile that Stephen gives him even now every now and then. When Tony would do something or say something that reminds Stephen of the fact that he loves him. 

It's a smile that Tony knows that he too wears sometimes when he can't believe that he gets to have this. That he gets to have Stephen. That they get to share their lives together now. 

It's- Tony kisses that smile softly and tenderly. 

"I love you." Tony whispers against Stephen's lips and he isn't too surprised when he sees a tear starting to slip from Stephen's eyes. He's pretty sure that his own eyes are a bit wet too. 

God, they have turned into sentimental fools haven't they? 

"You're everything." Stephen tells him and Tony smiles as he wraps his arms around Stephen's body and holds him tightly against himself as he lowers his head against Stephen's back. 

This closet, that sexual encounter that they'd shared, had been a means of both of them trying to let go. To put an end to the infatuations that had been building up inside of them. 

Instead, it had become their start. 

Tony moves slowly. Just as he had with Stephen laid out on the table in the library the day after. When they had kissed, when they had burned with the need to make sure that it wasn't a dream. That they weren't just imagining all of it. 

It had been a long encounter. It had been a slow, tender encounter that had felt so right and so perfect. 

This won't be the last time they make love tonight. Tony knows that. He knows that when they get home, they will take their time to explore each other's bodies. They will kiss and they will touch every single part of each other's bodies. 

They will make love the way that they always do. Kissing and touching each other as they go. But for now, despite the emotions or perhaps because of them, their needs are building. And they are building fast. 

Tony wonders if they will come back here next year. He wonders if they should. But as Stephen starts to move his hips back onto Tony's hard cock and their movements speed up, Tony can't help but think that it doesn't matter. 

They may or may not. It won't matter. Next year, they might find another way to celebrate or they might celebrate something else about their relationship. 

Either way, he knows that Stephen is going to be there. 

Knowing that, with the emotions and the need bubbling up, Tony starts to move faster. It is by no means as rough and hard as the way that they had gone about it that night. But it is quick. It is desperate and it is passionate. 

But it isn't perfect as it had that night. That night, the quick hard fuck had felt like it had been everything that he had needed. But right now, Tony wants to see Stephen. He wants to be able to kiss him. He wants to be able to feel his lover's hands on his. 

Typical, Tony thinks. He has always been a greedy bastard. Still, it feels good to have Stephen's tight heat around his cock and it feels amazing to hear the moans and the pants. It feels brilliant to see the magic fluttering about the two of them as they fill the air between them with their heated breaths. 

Tony wraps his hand around Stephen's cock and it doesn't take much for Stephen to come hard and tighten like a vice around Tony's cock. A few more thrusts into Stephen's all too willing body and Tony too is coming. There is no condom this time. 

He fills Stephen's hot channel with his spendings and when he is done, he rests his head against the sweaty back and kisses whatever skin his lips can reach as he tries to breathe and to settle his heart. 

"Marry me." Tony blurts out. Shit. Not exactly the romantic way that he'd planned, but fuck it, Tony thinks. 

He had been thinking for some time now that he wants this to be as permanent as he can get it. That he wants to declare to the world that Stephen was his and that he was Stephen's. 

That need to belong to Stephen, to be tied to him in every way imaginable had been building inside of him, but he hadn't meant to ask like this. He had meant to ask when they were sated and laying in bed with the ring that rested in the bedside table drawer. 

Tony almost loses his balance as Stephen turns around quickly. As his cock slips out of Stephen, as he loses the back that he had been leaning against, Tony has to struggle to stay upright, but Stephen catches him and holds him and there is wonder in his eyes when they manage to make eye contact. 

Magic sparks and flutters between them. 

"Say that again." Stephen demands as he pushes Tony against the hard wooden door, his eyes wide and filled with surprise and emotion. 

"Marry me. Please. I- I want-" Tony doesn't get to say the speech he prepared. He doesn't get to try to explain why he needs this. Hard lips press against his and it is desperate and perfect. 

Tony doesn't even notice the portal being opened. All he feels is Stephen as the Sorcerer Supreme wraps his arms around him, kissing him and pushing him until he lands on the soft sheets that  are  all too familiar. 

"Say it again." Stephen demands as he pulls away from the kiss and when he does, Tony looks up at him at the almost wild grey blue eyes, the now mussed hair and the wonder etched across that face. He smiles like an idiot as he does as his lover demands. 

"Dr Stephen Strange, will you please do me the honour of marrying me?" Tony asks, his voice trembling despite the fact that he knows the answer. 

"Yes. A thousand times yes." Stephen whispers against his lips before kissing them again as if he can't help himself. 

Laughter bubbles from Tony's chest and he can't help but let it out as Stephen's eyes light up with sheer delight and happiness. 

It feels right. It feels perfect. 

Tony's heart is filled with love, wonder and that elation and disbelief still that he gets to have this. That he gets to have Stephen, that he gets to touch and to hold and that Stephen is willing to tie himself to him. To become his husband. 

To become his family. 

"That's one way to come out of the closet." Tony mutters and he watches with delight as Stephen's eyes roll despite the amusement contained therein. 

As Tony looks up at his lover, as Stephen proceeds to kiss his way down Tony's body and  caress  him and all but worships him, Tony can't help but think. 

They have left behind the Masquerade Ball. They have left behind the dark janitor's closet where they had tried to hide themselves and the love that had been growing inside of them. 

And now, they were leaving the masks they hide behind in front of the world, as nothing more than friends, behind. No. They were done hiding. They were done with closets and the masks. 

Now, it's time to celebrate their love. 

~~~


End file.
